Of Basements And Bottles of Bourbon
by MaybeTomorrowI'llFly
Summary: After arresting his old boss, Tony ends up in Gibbs' basement...
1. Chapter 1

_Hi! I was inspired to write this story after "Baltimore" last night! It made my top ten list… but they all make my top ten, so I guess it's really not- oh, you know what I mean!_

Tony felt… well, he didn't know. There was so much he was feeling, so much he wanted to say. Somehow, Tony found himself in his car-parked in Gibbs' driveway. He barely remembered driving and yet somehow he automatically ended up in his boss' driveway. There was nothing else to do but go inside. So Tony dragged himself out of the car and down into the basement.

Gibbs looked up from his boat. "I didn't think you'd show up."

"Nice to see you too, Boss." He grabbed a stool and a half-empty bottle of Bourbon.

Gibbs picked up a glass full of screws and tipped it over. "You still have to drive home."

Tony obediently took the glass and filled it with the amber liquid. He looked around the room, taking in his surroundings. It didn't look any different than last time-or the time before that. He wanted to talk, but for some reason, no words came out.

"Aw, hell DiNozzo just spit it out." Gibbs said, almost reading his senior field agent's mind.

"How did you… never mind." Tony knew better than to question his boss' uncanny ability.

Gibbs almost smiled. "You okay, Tony?" He knew it was a matter of pride with DiNozzo. If he didn't start the conversation, they would sit in silence all night.

"I will be." Tony said quietly.

Gibbs waited; he knew this conversation wasn't over yet.

"I don't know who to trust anymore. My old boss, I worked with him for years. Never thought he would…"

"I know the feeling." Gibbs said his eyes in a faraway place.

"And Danny, he's dead. We hadn't talked in years… never gonna talk now."

Gibbs looked up to see Tony take another sip of Bourbon. "That's enough, DiNozzo."

Tony put the glass down shakily. "I don't know what I feel anymore, Boss."

"Betrayal. That's what I'd feel… what I have felt."

Tony was silent. He looked down at the floor, trying to remember the good times, but the bad ones seemed to surface too. His time at Baltimore seemed like more of a bad dream than reality.

"I really screwed up my life, didn't I?"

Gibbs put his tools down abruptly and faced his agent.


	2. Chapter 2

_Hi everyone! I'm so so sorry! But something happened with my computer and it didn't save everything from chapter 1. But I decided to go with the flow… enjoy the rest of chapter 1 and my next chapter._

_Sorry!_

Gibbs put his tools down and abruptly faced his agent.

"Tony, just because your old boss and partner made some bad choices, it doesn't mean you did."

"I haven't made the best choices, Boss." Tony muttered.

"No one's perfect, Tony. We all screw things up."

"Yeah, but-"Tony stopped and looked at the floor.

Gibbs waited, but he knew his agent was done. "Take tomorrow off, DiNozzo."

"Okay. Thanks, Boss." With that, he hurried up the stairs and out into the night.

Ziva walked into the bullpen, expecting to be the first in. She certainly didn't expect to see Tony resting his head on his desk, softly snoring. After his partner's death and boss' arrest, he looked about ready to lose it. She walked to her desk, quietly as possible-but Tony raised his head anyway.

"Good Morning, Tony." Ziva said to the half-asleep agent.

"Oh, hey, Ziva." Tony said as he smoothed the wrinkles on his shirt.

"Are you alright?" Ziva asked in concern.

"Me? I'm fine." The senior agent said as he flashed a fake smile.

Ziva nodded skeptically and got to her paperwork.

Eventually McGee showed up and asked Tony the same question.

"I'm fine, Probie. You need to relax. You should try yoga or something." He tried to sound upbeat, but Ziva and McGee had been working with him for years. They knew the real Tony.

Gibbs walked in to find one of his agents dozing off and the other two staring at him in concern. He instantly walked over to Tony's desk.

Tony quickly lifted his head.

"DiNozzo, what the hell are you doing here? I told you to take the day off."

"Oh, sorry, Boss. I just needed to finish this report." Tony said, giving him half a smile.

Gibbs gave his agent a skeptical look and motioned for Tony to follow him-to the elevator.

Of course, Tony followed. He got up with no hesitation and walked right into the elevator.

McGee and Ziva exchanged knowing glances. Tony was definitely going to hear it.

"Tony, is there a reason why you're here?" Gibbs said, giving his agent a cold stare.

"I told you, I had to finish my report."

"The real reason."

"Boss, I- well….. How do you do that?"

Gibbs rolled his eyes.

"I just… it's complicated." He couldn't bear to look Gibbs in the eye.

"Tony." Gibbs said quietly.

"The last time we really talked was the night I found out he was… dirty." He choked out the last word and stared up at the ceiling.

Gibbs waited.

"I betrayed him. We were partners and I just… walked out."

"I'll say it again, DiNozzo. Everyone screws up; it's how you handle messing up that matters."

"Thanks, Boss." Tony said. "It means a lot."

"Yeah. Now, go home. You look like crap."

Tony gave a genuine smile. Maybe he would be okay.

_Yay! Happy ending! Still sorry about chapter 1, hoped this one made up for it. Please review…_

_Thanks again and still sorry,_

_Not like the others_


End file.
